“, epiphanies when I’ve played those aforementioned AssCreed games, too.

There I go, doing it all anyway, despite myself.

Rinse, repeat, and lo and behold, another five hours have gone by.

A woman watches a blue monster stress eat a bowl of fruit in Palworld

This is the core of what Palworld actually is.

Eventually, you might also set aboutbreeding them, but the focus is never on the Pals themselves.

Well, sort of.

A female character prepares to attack a floating blue water creature in Palworld

But even then, Palworld still feels like a poor imitation.

Thus, battles end up following the same repetitive pattern as its base building.

It doesnt matter whatPalsyou’ve got fighting alongside you either.

A female character watches as monsters farm a wheat field in Palworld

The rest of the time, it’s back to taking potshots with your bow.

Capturing Pals is worse still.

That’s why, deep down, I know Palworld is essentially junk food of the highest order.

A female character hoists a forest monster in the air in Palworld

There’s no real joy or soul to be found here.

All that exists is the infernal checklist.

This review is based on a retail build of the game provided by developers Pocketpair.

A human and several monsters all help craft a bench in Palworld

A purple deer crouches in front of a large pile of timber in Palworld

A female character prepares to throw a ball at a monster in Palworld

Several monsters attack at night in Palworld

Several monsters attack at once in Palworld

A woman rides a sea serpent, having killed another sea serpent in Palworld,

A female character rides a giant bird in Palworld

A woman runs up a hill as a sea serpent attacks a blue dragon in Palworld

A woman rides a sea serpent up a bland volcanic hill in Palworld